


Hold It All Loosely, And Yet Somehow Much More Dearly

by crocs



Category: Twilight (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Oneshot, POV Outsider, Twilight Renaissance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 02:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16802152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crocs/pseuds/crocs
Summary: There were about three things that Charlie Swan was absolutely sure of. Well, there were probably more, he reflected, but those three seemed the most important. Number one; his neighbour was stealing his cable. Two; that Uley kid was on steroids. Three; Bella's new friends were kind of idiots. And there was a large part of his daughter that seemed to have a crush on one of them.(Oneshot. RosalieBella.Twilight-Era.)





	Hold It All Loosely, And Yet Somehow Much More Dearly

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own anything.

Charlie sighed as he sat at the kitchen table alone.

He'd managed to coax two slices of slightly-burned toast out of the toaster and finagle a cup of coffee from that fancy cafetière that Renee had gotten him for Christmas years ago. He'd gotten her a set of throw pillows. Looking back, that was probably the foot in the door for her.

Bella had gotten back late last night, as she had every night that week. The only reason Charlie knew that was he worked late himself, and wasn't a moron. Seriously, kid, he reflected, turning off your bedroom light the second your father pulls into the driveway only works if you do it before you see him. In the past few days, though, she'd gotten quicker at it. Practice makes perfect, he guessed.

Charlie didn't try to pry into her life, and he knew she appreciated it. Bella did the cooking — apparently, living off pure diner food was unacceptable — and he didn't stick his nose into her business. But that morning he’d managed to make his own breakfast, so sue him. Charlie was a cop. He was practically required to be curious.

He flipped open his notebook and stared down his list. There were about three things that Charlie Swan was absolutely sure of. Well, there were probably more, he reflected, but those three seemed the most important. Number one; his neighbour was stealing his cable. Two; that Uley kid was on steroids. Three; Bella's new friends were kind of idiots. And there was a large part of his daughter that seemed to have a crush on one of them.

Roseanne or something.

There was some sort of conspiracy, he concluded, writing down and circling the word. Charlie outright despised all the bad talk about the Cullens — they were just new to town. Not everyone could be a mild-mannered, polite, conventionally attractive doctor and his family. While he hadn't really talked to the rest of the Cullen family, he'd had multiple conversations with Carlisle for police business. And personal health reasons. He was a good man.

But spotting one of his daughters on Monday scaling down the wall outside Bella's bedroom and ducking into his neighbour's garden? Well, either Roseanne was hired by Mr. Jones to hook up his cable, or her and Bella had graduated from smouldering at each other to actually being two stable kids in a relationship.

The only reason he was opposed to that option was that he'd set her a strict curfew on herself and any partner she had. They also had to leave the door wide open. And call him. It all came down to this — Charlie really really didn't want to ground his kid, so he'd decided to keep mum about it and believe a conspiracy about his neighbour instead. Simple enough.

It was partly true, anyway. Now, he thought, tapping his pen on the page, how did Uley fit in? Was he the getaway driver? Did he need the large muscles to install the cable? Were the other Cullen siblings helping them?

He flipped to a new page and started to scrawl down the names of his suspects. Roseanne. Uley. Uh. Edwin. Allison. Emmett. Jason? Charlie scratched his moustache and frowned. He was sure he got the others correct, but Jason didn't look right. He crossed it out and wrote down Jayden instead. Much better.

Glumly, Charlie reached for his coffee and took a swig. He cringed at the taste. Maybe he should have read the instructions on the press first. Replacing it, he looked upwards to the ceiling as what sounded like a herd of elephants stumbled down the stairs. He followed the noise with his eyes until he got to the open door frame. Bella peeked her head through, the loose curls of her hair from her bun bouncing as she stopped.

"Dad, hey," she greeted, entering the room. Bella crossed over to the Word-A-Day calendar and opened the next page. Today's word was, apparently, effervescent. "Breakfast?"

He lifted up his uneaten toast to show her. His daughter rolled her eyes and turned the toaster back on. Huffing in mock hurt, Charlie shut his notebook and placed back it in his pocket, patting it for luck. Bella looked at him as he did so.

"Anything, uh, interesting?"

"Nothing much," he assured her, and then frowned. "Are those stilettos?"

Bella's left hand was holding onto the back of two red diamanté-d shoes. The heels looked lethal — long and sharp and pencil thin. He was very afraid for whoever’s they were. He knew they weren't his kid's; for one, she preferred shoes that let her entire sole lay flat, and the shoes also looked like they were a pragmatist's nightmare. They probably cost about as much as the entire house.

"Rosalie's," she confirmed. "She left them here. After our… bio project. Last night."

"Bio project. Ah." Charlie reached for the paper casually. "Because if it were anything else —"

Bella coughed loudly. "Oh my god, dad, no. Ew. I am not discussing that with you."

He hid a grin. It was assuring to see she was still as terrible at lying as she always was. "Seriously, though, Bells. I'm fine with you and whoever you decide to be with. As long as they don't hurt you."

"Still." Bella dumped the plate of fresh toast in front of him and moved his own to the side. "Rosalie and I are just lab partners. That's all."

"Even if you don't want it to be all?" He pressed. Bella raised an unimpressed eyebrow and grabbed the orange juice from the fridge. "Okay, okay. I'm shutting up now." Charlie mimed zipping his mouth shut. "See?"

A familiar trill sounded from the front door. The doorbell. Slowly, surely, stealthily, Charlie leant back in his chair so he could see exactly who was at the door. Two teenagers, anaemic as they came. Edwin and Roseanne. No doubt conspiring, he thought.

Charlie groaned. "Your friends are here," he announced, watching Bella's face contort in confusion.

"Jessica? She wasn't supposed to come by until later."

"No. Your girlfriend and her brother."

Her eyes lit up, and then narrowed accusingly. "We're not — we're just —"

The doorbell went again and Bella broke off, wagging her finger and then speeding towards the door like one of those pull-back toy cars. Charlie shook his head fondly as he listened to her greet them breathlessly before inviting them in. Then he looked around the messy kitchen and sighed for real. What if they reported back to his doctor that he was living in what was probably a contaminated environment? He put his head in his hands.

Then, as Charlie was contemplating grabbing the air freshener in order to try and spruce the place up, he looked up at the doorway as he heard Edwin laugh at something in the corridor. Charlie got up and walked over.

"Anyway, so Alice says that she saw — Oh, is this your father?" Roseanne said, flipping her immaculate golden tresses behind her shoulder. A large silver locket practically demanded attention, along with her eyes (a bright, sparkling amber) and her dramatic makeup. Charlie wasn't sure where to look. He was sure, however, that that was the entire point.

"Chief Charlie Swan," he introduced himself, extending his hand. Roseanne shook it, a bright grin overtaking her face. Despite the happy expression, Charlie thought she looked more like a lioness flashing her teeth at some prey. Except he definitely wasn’t prey. He was a mouse that had the magic ability to turn into an elephant or whatever. A really cool elephant. With lasers for eyes.

As Edwin snickered at something again, Roseanne rolled her eyes and shook his hand. Her hand was as cold as porcelain. Charlie made a note later to look up whether poor circulation was a symptom of anaemia or not. Poor kids. "Rosalie Hale. Pleasure to finally meet you. Bella is restless when talking of your achievements."

Shakespeare, much? "Is she, now?" Charlie looked at his daughter, who looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her up.

Bella cleared her throat. "You left these behind last night." She lifted up the stilettos for Roseanne to see.

Roseanne blinked, thrown. Then she smiled again, this time more subdued, as if the smile before was just for show. "I suppose I did. Thank you, Bella."

"No — no problem," Bella stammered. Roseanne took the shoes and slipped off the ones she was wearing, slipping her feet into the stilettos like she were Cinderella. She opened the large bag that was resting on the crook of her elbow and placed the other shoes in it, but not before Charlie saw the book inside.

"Dracula?"

"It's sort of a family in-joke," Edwin said, speaking for the first time. An unmistakable Midwest accent coloured his voice. "We actually went to Transylvania last year for a holiday."

Charlie, having never actually been out of the country despite being the owner of a valid passport, nodded along. "Interesting. Look, Bella, I don't mean to rush you, but —"

"— But the heat is being let out of the house, I know," she finished. "I'm, uh, I'm going out for a bit."

"What about that Jessalyn girl?"

Bella bit her lip. "Jessica? I should be back for then." Charlie didn't miss the way Rosalie's eyes flashed dangerously before she began to smile wide again. Someone was jealous. "Um, Rosalie? Should we go to my car?"

Rosalie huffed. "I'm incredibly sorry, but I'm not setting foot in any car until I get a look under the hood. Personal policy." She shrugged. "We'll go in the Mercedes."

The Mercedes. Brilliant. "Right, then. Off you go." He waved them out of his doorway and off his porch, watching Bella carefully as she almost tripped into the car. "Hey, Ro — you?" (He really didn't want to mess up her name if she was going to be in his daughter's life.)

Roseanne wound down her car window. "Yes, Chief Swan?"

"If you're interested in cars, I've got an old set of tools in the garage I could lend you. Vintage." He could see Bella mouth no to her andbit down on a laugh.

Her smile was that same genuine one she'd shown to Bella earlier. "I've already got my own, but thank you. That's very kind. We'll have her back by noon?"

"Uh, sure." Charlie waved off the Khaki Brigade as they reversed out of the driveway flawlessly and drifted down the paved road. He took out his notebook again and sat down on the steps.

He was now sure of about three more things than earlier that morning. Number one; the Cullen kids needed to take some iron pills. Two; his toast was cold by now. Three; Roseanne probably wasn't stealing his cable for Mr. Jones. And there was a large part of her that seemed to have a crush on his daughter.

Charlie would let them figure out themselves how to tell him when they finally wised up and got together. It wasn't as if he was missing anything.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Sleeping At Last's _One_. Thank you for reading!


End file.
